California High-Speed Rail Authority staff are recommending that the bullet train follow a route through the Antelope Valley instead of trying to scale (or descend) a route along the Grapevine parallel to the 5 freeway. This isn’t a huge shock — in Los Angeles County, there’s more support for the Antelope Valley route. That includes an endorsement from the Metro Board of Directors.

After years of planning, the 438-unit residential building adjacent to Metro’s Red/Purple Line yards in downtown L.A. is finally set to break ground. The obstacle was securing financing. The project sits on land leased from Metro and could be a boon for the eastern part of the Arts District, which IMO could use a few more pedestrians wandering about.

Fun post that holds that Spanish law from the 1500s dictated that new settlements be located 20 miles inland near fresh water and a labor source (i.e. Native Americans). Many more details about how downtown Los Angeles came to be located where it is — not where it should have been (Long Beach!).

There’s no particular pot of money set aside at this time for an Arts District station, nor has the decision been made by the Board of Directors to pursue such a station. Could it happen in the future? Possibly, but I suspect there will need to be a lot more people living over there and a lot more businesses. I do think this is a positive for the area.